Like many Chinese migrants, our Society’s directors and volunteers also sent their children to Chinese School to learn Chinese language. During their conversations, they often talked about how the children felt the Chinese classes were boring and were not motivating, leading to unsatisfactory learning outcomes. In 1989, some directors suggested the idea of using drama to motivate children’s interest in learning Chinese language.
Starting the drama class required professional teaching personnel. By chance, Henry met a couple, William Yu and his wife Yanni Wang, who were overseas Chinese students then. They were graduates of The China Central Academy of Drama who were perfect candidates for running the drama class. After knowing the situation, they happily agreed to teach the class.
The Children’s Drama class of our Society started in October 1989. Many children of our Society’s directors and volunteers showed interest in joining the class, including Henry’s two daughters.
Half a year later, our Society staged a grand Cultural Concert at Willoughby Town Hall to raise funds for the Elderly Home Project of EACH. Children of the drama class performed a short drama titled “The Little Crayon”. After the performance, feedback received from audiences was very good and positive. Children and their parents felt a strong sense of encouragement.
As more students enrolled in the drama class, the number of teachers had also increased. These included Jian Chen, a veteran Hong Kong media personality who had also worked for the Shanghai television station and she taught the children singing and voice projection; Yi Hu of the Suzhou Song and Dance Troupe taught dancing. There was also a couple, Huili Wang and her husband, Lingsun Hu, who were experienced professionals teaching children’s drama. Their participation strengthened the academic personnel of the children’s drama class.
With the strong team of expertise, William Yu came up with a daring idea to stage a large-scale children’s drama performance. His idea was strongly supported by our Society’s Board. Decision was made in October 1990 to stage a large-scale fairy tale drama “Ma-lan-hua” consisting of 6 scenes. The performance would again be raising fund for EACH.
“Ma-lan-hua” was a huge production. There were many characters in the story and they all needed special costumes, together with props and backdrops. To ensure an excellent outcome, children stayed back after their drama class every Saturday to rehearse.
The newly built Campsie Activity Hall provided an ideal venue for the rehearsal and practice. The activity space was large and kitchen facilities were adequate. The hall became a busy place on every Saturday. Children were enthusiastically rehearsing while the team of over 50 volunteers worked on the costumes, props and preparing meals. Henry’s wife, Sue Mok, was one of the backbones of the volunteer team responsible for making costumes and preparing meals.
Today Henry is still reminiscent of those weekends when everyone was busy rehearsing and working on the performance. Everyone was working towards the same goal: raising fund for EACH and providing an opportunity for the children to shine on stage. The team spirit was enormously strong, with everyone supporting and encouraging one another.
🤔 How did the “Ma-lan-hua” performance go? There is more to share in the next article!